Kanzler Pinot Noir 2018, Russian River Valley, California

“We hand-pick and hand-sort (twice) all our Pinot Noir grapes before placing them in plastic T-bins or stainless-steel fermentation tanks. After a 4-5 day cold soak, we gently heated the must to initiate fermentation, using a mix of both commercial and indigenous yeasts. 2-3 times each day, we punched-down the cap. Once fermentation completed, we gently basket-pressed the must keeping the press wine and free-run wine separate. Then we select barrels to best complement each lot. Kanzler Vineyards uses 100% French Oak. The 2017 Pinot was barrel aged for 14 months on lees, with 30% new oak, before being blended and sent to stainless for an additional month of integration before bottling. The finished wine was bottled un-fined and unfiltered.” The 2017 Russian River Pinot Noir is complex, multilayered and sure to be a crowd pleasure. It showcases classic Russian River Valley depth, texture and lushness, while also being taunt, elegant and almost weightless on the mid-palate. The wine glides across the palate leaving bursts of fruit, spice, earth and oak that echo into a sustained finish.